OptoForge Privacy Notice

OptoForge is currently operated by Justin Ogheneruemu Eghaghara, trading as OptoForge.

Privacy contact: support@optoforge.co

This Privacy Notice explains how personal information is used when you create an account or use the OptoForge clinical-learning platform.

1. What OptoForge is

OptoForge is an educational and professional-development platform for optometrists, optometry students, trainees and eye-care professionals.

It provides learning pathways, educational clinical cases, assessments, learning-progress tools and AI-assisted educational features.

OptoForge is not a healthcare provider and is not intended for the delivery of individual patient care or for making live patient-specific diagnosis, treatment, prescribing, monitoring, triage or referral decisions.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you use OptoForge, we may process:

• your name and email address;
• account and authentication information;
• country, region and jurisdiction information;
• professional stage and practice setting;
• learning goals and clinical interests;
• learning activities and completion history;
• quiz and case-performance information;
• Clinical Development and competency evidence generated from eligible learning activities;
• subscription or beta-access status;
• feedback and clinical-content reports you submit;
• communication preferences, including separate choices for feedback invitations and learning emails;
• the date, method and wording version of email opt-ins and withdrawals, where captured in the app;
• technical account information required to operate and secure the service;
• information you voluntarily enter into ForgeAI or other free-text fields.

OptoForge does not intentionally request identifiable patient information.

3. Do not enter identifiable patient information

OptoForge is an educational platform.

You must not enter information that identifies or could reasonably identify a real patient.

This includes, where applicable:

• patient names;
• dates of birth;
• addresses;
• NHS or other healthcare identification numbers;
• hospital or record numbers;
• personal contact information;
• identifiable photographs;
• or combinations of details capable of identifying a patient.

Where educational clinical information is discussed, use only appropriately de-identified information. De-identification does not change the V1 clinical-use boundary: retrospective or de-identified material may be used for learning and reflection, but OptoForge should not be used to make a live patient-care decision.

4. Why we use your information

We use personal information to:

• create and operate your OptoForge account;
• authenticate users and protect account security;
• provide the learning service requested by you;
• personalise learning according to professional stage, learning goal, interests and jurisdiction;
• record eligible learning activity and progress;
• generate educational recommendations;
• operate ForgeAI;
• provide and improve beta functionality;
• investigate technical or security problems;
• respond to feedback and clinical-content concerns;
• invite consenting testers to contribute voluntary feedback and research observations;
• send optional return-to-learning emails when expressly chosen by the learner;
• retain limited suppression and consent records to respect communication preferences;
• administer access and subscriptions where applicable;
• maintain appropriate operational and security records.

5. Lawful bases

Depending on the processing activity, OptoForge may rely on:

CONTRACTUAL NECESSITY — where processing is necessary to create and operate your account and provide features you request;

LEGITIMATE INTERESTS — where reasonably necessary to operate, secure, personalise, evaluate and improve the educational service, prevent misuse, administer the beta and respond to content or safety concerns;

LEGAL OBLIGATION — where processing is required to comply with applicable law.

CONSENT — for optional feedback-invitation emails and learning reminders where the learner actively opts in. These are separate choices, switched off by default. Agreeing to beta testing or acknowledging this Privacy Notice is not an email opt-in. Optional learning reminders may count as direct marketing under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR); OptoForge will apply relevant consent and opt-out requirements before sending them.

5A. Beta participation, research contact and email preferences

During the controlled beta, learners can choose to submit feedback through the app. OptoForge may invite a learner to give feedback through their in-app notification inbox, subject to their notification preferences. Participation in testing does not itself authorise email contact or promotional messages.

There are two separate optional email choices in My Profile: (1) emails specifically asking for beta feedback or participation in testing; and (2) learning reminders inviting a return to educational activities. Neither is required for access, payment, assessment or completion. Other promotional emails are not authorised by either choice.

For an email choice, OptoForge records the user ID, permission status, action time, consent wording version and source of the action, plus withdrawals when made in the app. A learner may withdraw either permission at any time under My Profile → Learning reminders, without losing access to the platform. Emails contain a link back to these preferences; privacy requests can also be sent to support@optoforge.co. Consent is not inferred from past verbal conversations without sufficiently specific, documented evidence of what was agreed.

Messages about necessary account security, contractual or service matters may be sent separately where appropriate; these are not general marketing permission. We do not treat the collection of beta feedback as permission to publish identifiable testimonials or use feedback in advertising without a separate appropriate basis or permission.

6. ForgeAI

ForgeAI uses artificial intelligence to support educational learning.

When you use ForgeAI, information sent for AI processing may include:

• your professional stage;
• learning goal;
• pathway;
• clinical interests;
• jurisdiction;
• practice setting;
• summarised Clinical Development information;
• limited information about recent mapped learning activities;
• your current ForgeAI conversation;
• and the text you submit.

OptoForge's normal in-app ForgeAI chat does not intentionally send your:

• email address;
• authentication credentials;
• subscription/payment information;
• or internal account identifier

as part of the learner-context prompt.

The standard in-app ForgeAI conversation is maintained in application session state and is not intentionally saved as a permanent OptoForge chat transcript in the learner database.

Information sent to ForgeAI is processed through OptoForge's technology provider, Base44, and AI service providers used by the Base44 platform.

AI systems can make mistakes. ForgeAI output should therefore be used for education, simulation and reflection, not to make live patient-care decisions. It is not a substitute for professional judgement, supervision, current clinical guidance or direct patient assessment.

7. Clinical Development and automated personalisation

OptoForge uses eligible learning activity to generate educational progress information and personalise learning.

The Clinical Development / Competency Digital Twin represents evidence observed within OptoForge.

It does not certify real-world clinical competence.

It does not grant:

• professional registration;
• licensure;
• prescribing authority;
• employment status;
• academic qualification;
• or any professional credential.

OptoForge does not currently use solely automated processing to make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on learners.

8. Service providers

OptoForge relies on service providers to operate the platform.

These may include providers supporting:

• hosting and database services;
• authentication;
• email delivery;
• file storage;
• security and operational logging;
• analytics required to operate the platform;
• and artificial-intelligence processing.

Base44 provides the core application infrastructure and may use subprocessors to provide these services.

OptoForge does not sell learner personal information.

OptoForge does not currently use learner information for targeted advertising.

9. International processing

The technology providers supporting OptoForge may store or process information outside the United Kingdom.

This may include processing in the United States and other locations used by Base44 and its subprocessors.

Where international transfers require safeguards, the relevant service providers are expected to use applicable contractual or other recognised transfer mechanisms.

OptoForge will review its hosting and processing arrangements as the service develops.

10. How long information is kept

OptoForge keeps personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including operation of the learner account, maintenance of learning history, security, beta evaluation, content governance and applicable legal requirements.

Retention is reviewed according to the type of information and whether an account remains active.

Beta feedback and clinical-content reports may be retained after resolution where reasonably necessary to maintain product, safety or governance records.

Security or administrative audit records may also be retained where reasonably necessary to demonstrate the integrity of the service.

Where information is no longer required, OptoForge will delete or anonymise it where reasonably practicable and subject to applicable legal obligations.

11. ForgeAI score history on your device

Certain ForgeAI performance summaries may be stored locally on your device rather than in your OptoForge account.

The current implementation limits this local score history to the most recent 50 reports.

You may clear this local history through the control provided within OptoForge or by clearing the relevant browser/app storage.

12. Your rights

Depending on applicable data-protection law and the circumstances, you may have rights relating to your personal information, including rights to:

• obtain information about how your information is used;
• request access to your information;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• request erasure;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to certain processing;
• and request portability where applicable.

Some rights depend on the particular lawful basis and circumstances and are not absolute.

To make a privacy or data-rights request, contact: support@optoforge.co

You may also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office or another competent data-protection authority.

13. Children

The OptoForge controlled beta is intended only for users aged 18 years or older.

Users under 18 must not register for or use the controlled beta.

14. Changes to this notice

OptoForge may update this Privacy Notice as the platform develops.

Material changes will be communicated appropriately, and where necessary users may be asked to acknowledge an updated notice or accept updated Terms.

Privacy Notice version: 0.3-beta

Effective: 12 October 2026